The Interim President of Egypt - Dr. ElBaradei

[Oilwellian]

ElBaradei was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. He was one of five children of Mostafa ElBaradei, an attorney who headed the Egyptian Bar Association and often found himself at odds with the regime of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. ElBaradei's father was also a supporter of democratic rights in Egypt, supporting a free press and a legal system that was independent.<3>

ElBaradei is married to Aida El-Kachef, an early childhood teacher. Their daughter, Laila, is a lawyer and lives in London.

ElBaradei earned a Bachelor's degree in law from the University of Cairo in 1962, followed by a DEA degree in International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and a PhD in International Law at the New York University School of Law in 1974.

His diplomatic career began in 1964 in the Ministry of External Affairs, where he served in the Permanent Missions of Egypt to the United Nations in New York and in Geneva, in charge of political, legal, and arms control issues. From 1974 to 1978, he was a special assistant to the Foreign Minister. In 1980, he became a senior fellow in charge of the International Law Program at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. From 1981 to 1987, he was also an Adjunct Professor of International Law at New York University School of Law.

In 1984, ElBaradei became a senior staff member of the IAEA Secretariat, serving as the Agency's legal adviser (1984 to 1993) and Assistant Director General for External Relations (1993 to 1997).

ElBaradei began serving as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency on December 1, 1997, succeeding Hans Blix of Sweden.<4><5> He was re-elected for two more four-year terms in 2001 and 2005. His third and last term ended in November 2009. Elbaradei's tenure has been marked by high profile non-proliferation issues including the inspections in Iraq preceding the March 2003 invasion and tensions over the nuclear program of Iran.

ElBaradei is a current member of the International Law Association and the American Society of International Law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_ElBaradei

He challenged Bush's lies about Iraq and WMDs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVldccu5RmQ

He is a Peace Prize winner:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=924766n

He likes Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1yUAfOlQGo

The Egyptian people couldn't have chosen a finer leader.

On Edit: One other link - you can hear it live here:
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[madokie]

1. What little I know of him I like him

rec 5

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Sounds good

and they can get back onto Facebook (just kidding!).

I think that the people have spoken.

[gateley]

3. Thank you so much, Oilwellian! This is so helpful and informative.

And OT, I always laugh when I read your username -- one of my faves! :hi:

[Oilwellian]

8. You're welcome gately

I've been a fan of ElBaradei for years. Doesn't anyone remember Bush's struggles when he had to say IAEA? :rofl:

[Avalux]

4. He's made it clear he doesn't want to be head honcho.

Wants to work with other opposition groups to bring democracy to Egypt. Your subject line makes me uncomfortable.

[Oilwellian]

7. I specifically stated "interim" for a reason

It clearly implies he has not been crowned by any means. Sheesh.

[wisteria]

27. Modist is he? From what I have seen here and heard on the news, he has made himself their leader.

I suppose he just doesn't want it to look like he is trying to take out the President and take over the country.

[cali]

5. we can only hope.

[dipsydoodle]

6. He's the leader of a middle class minority group

Most Egyptians don't even know who he is.

The Muslim Brotherhood have said they are willing to let him lead a combined opposition group - for the time being.

[Oilwellian]

9. ElBaradei is secular

The majority of Egyptian people are secular. The MB are a small minority. That boogie man don't fly.

[oberliner]

10. The majority of Egyptian people are not secular

I don't know where you got that from.

[dipsydoodle]

12. The MB

are the largest opposition group by far. They are not currently allowed to field candidates in elections so their candidates stand individually as independents. Next elections that should now change.

I don't regard then as boogie men - I leave that to the USA.

[BOG PERSON]

23. you're right that he's not religiously motivated

you're wrong about the rest

[wisteria]

30. Sorry, but I don't buy your premise. I have seen where it doesn't take a majority organization to

take over and rule a country and its people.

[RainDog]

18. Muslim Brotherhood = 20% of political opposition

They are the Muslim equivalent of Christian Fundamentalists in the U.S.

Just as the U.S. has pols who pander to those theocrats - other nations have them as well.

In the U.S., however, the talibornagains get far more publicity and support in the main stream media than they deserve - which makes their political bloc problematic here... but they're exploited by the rich and powerful here to achieve ends that are, in fact, in opposition to the economic interests of this group.

I don't think the Muslim Brotherhood faction is quite as stupid.

[dipsydoodle]

22. That doesn't change the fact

they are the largest political opposition group in Egypt.

[BOG PERSON]

37. 20% is pretty impressive for a banned political organization

Today, if you look around certainly the Arabic-speaking world, and in many places in the Muslim world more broadly, you see this phenomenon of executive dominance. That's what the political scientists like to call it. It's a situation where a king or a president has enormous power and is not effectively checked by any voice in the society.

On the one hand, it's important to notice that many less developed or Third World countries have similar problems. You can go to Africa and see the same phenomenon in countries that are not Muslim. You can go to Latin America and see the same phenomenon in some countries that are not Muslim. So the point is, this isn't unique to the Muslim world.

But what I think is distinctive for the Muslim world is that the voice that traditionally would have served as a counterbalance to the executive—namely, the scholars—is largely muted. What has come in place of the scholars is the movement which calls itself the Islamist movement.

It's in this that the Muslim world today is very different from Africa or Latin America, where what you get are various liberation movements or pro-democratization movements. You might even include the former Soviet countries in Eastern Europe in this model. In those countries, the criticism of the executive that has emerged is of a certain type that is particular to those environments. But in the Muslim world, the most powerful voice opposing the autocratic governments has been that of the Islamists.

http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/transcripts/0039.html

[RainDog]

38. agreed

yes, it's a powerful political force.

when the Shah was overthrown, there were various factions - the communists were part of the overthrow, too, as well as the socialists, etc...

and they did not expect the Ayatollah's group would force out all other political factions.

The Islamist movement has power, in part, because of the wide-spread support for the Wahabbists in Saudi Arabia - who want them to export "revolution" to other parts of the world in exchange for a share of the ruling power in that nation.

And Yemen, which is so unstable, has been the sad recipient of much of that revolutionary faction.

It seems the reality is that dictatorships that prevent the young and educated from sharing a place at the table of power push those people into organizations that will.

These nations no longer want to accept their status as colonies of the west and the MB provides an ideological framework outside of that role.

Every nation or region goes through changes along the way. If the MB wants to stand back - that's certainly a possible strategy... sort of like the German communists saying the fascists first, then them, when trying to move to democracy after the fall of the last European old-school monarchy - well, actually, that sort of did happen, but it was horrific and bloody and it wasn't (just) the communists, it was also the socialists - and, ultimately the socialists since 1990.

I don't think Egypt wants what Iran has - but then, neither did a lot of Iranians.

Nevertheless, the idea that those who make evolution impossible make revolution inevitable seems to apply over and over again.

[pnorman]

19. The Muslim Brotherhood are the Teabaggers of Egypt.

Except that they're murderously serious, and not a singly chickenhawk in the lot. Nasser, Sadat, and finally Mubarak, represented Secular Muslisism, and the sworn enemy of the MB.

They WILL have a significant voice in the new government, and that's why this country is so goddam LUCKY to have a person like Barack Obama in the White House at this particular time!

[BOG PERSON]

33. no

the teabaggers don't have community service programs. if you want to compare the muslim brotherhood with any american political grouping it might be with the catholic workers, if the catholic workers had been ruthlessly suppressed for 80 years.

[wisteria]

29. The Muslim Brotherhood is what scares me. I think they figure they are powerful enough to control

the country.

[oberliner]

11. When did the Egyptian people choose him as their leader?

Was there an election already?

[dipsydoodle]

13. The intention is

that he becomes a temporary figurehead.

off topic - you from OH ?

[oberliner]

14. But how did he become the man?

Who chose him?

Went to Oberlin College.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. 6 April, We are all Khalid Said and 25 January Movements, the National Assembly for Change, and MB

1206 GMT A coalition of opposition groups issue a statement asking Mohamed ElBaradei to form a transitional government. They call on the Nobel Laureate "during this transitional stage, to act in the internal and external affairs of the nation, and to form a temporary government… and to dissolve parliament and draft a new constitution which enables the Egyptian people to freely choose its representatives in parliament and elect a legitimate president." The statement was signed by the 6 April Movement, the We are all Khalid Said Movement, the National Assembly for Change and the 25 January Movement.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/9381309.stm

2.26pm: The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a "national salvation government". This is very significant according to our Middle East editor Ian Black.

Sensational political developments in Cairo, with reports that five opposition movements, including the key Muslim Brotherhood, have mandated Mohammed ElBaradei to negotiate over the formation of a temporary "national salvation government."

Osama Ghazlai Harb of the National Democrsatic Front told BBC Arabic that this would be a transitional administration that would oversee the cancellation of the emergency laws and the release of all political prisoners.

The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which has kept a low profile so far, said it was backing the demand along with other four groups.

It seems unlikely at this stage that the Mubarak government will agree to negotiate with to ElBaradei, but the publication of the demand adds a significant new element to Egypt's rapidly unfolding political crisis.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jan/30/egypt-protests-live-updates#block-33

[Oilwellian]

17. You can see it live here

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[wisteria]

31. Aljazeera? I am sorry, but I do not trust their motives in all of this.

Frankly, I think their reporting has been biased.

[Oilwellian]

20. Where does my OP say the Egyptian people chose him?

Perhaps I should post the definition of "interim" -

Definition of INTERIM
: an intervening time : interval

Example of INTERIM

1. There was a brief interim in the proceedings while everyone got organized.

[Hugabear]

21. Towards the bottom of your OP, you said exactly that

"The Egyptian people couldn't have chosen a finer leader."

[Oilwellian]

24. Perhaps I should reword it

The Egyptian people have accepted a fine interim leader. :D

[Hugabear]

34. I haven't seen anything about him becoming the interim leader

I understood what you meant by your OP, I just haven't heard or seen anything about him becoming the interim leader. At least not yet, although it looks like he's gaining more traction.

[justiceischeap]

16. 'People told El Baradei: We don't need anyone to represent us.'

http://twitter.com/#!/abdu/status/31775401915187200

abdu Abdurahman Warsame
People told El Baradei: We don't need anyone to represent us. Couldn't finish his speech and left dejected #Egypt #cairo #Elbaradei

[wisteria]

25. So when did he come into power? I must have missed that breaking news. n/t

[Oilwellian]

28. I haven't watched American media today

ElBaradei spoke before the Egyptian people today and they want him as their interim leader until elections are held. There's a link to Al Jazeera live in my original OP. You can learn a lot of the days events there.

[Oilwellian]

26. ElBaradei: Muslim Brotherhood threat is a myth pushed by dictatorial regime

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x548892

[wisteria]

32. Nope, I don't buy it. It seems to me ELBaradei would be their puppet for a while-

then they will get rid of him.

[Jack Rabbit]

35. A man the Bushies once tried to oust as IAEA director

He's got to be good.

[Chan790]

36. Not likely to happen.

A man far less popular in his homeland than abroad.

This is largely a revolution of Egyptians for Egyptians, he might have gotten on a plane and gone home to join in the revolution and they'll accept the support of anybody, but to many Egyptians he's a westerner and no longer entirely one of them. He left and enjoyed the comforts of western life, they stayed and endured poverty and oppression. Their willingness to accept him will end the second someone mentions his name seriously for any leadership...and he knows it too.